Manmohan's name for presidency a Congress gimmick: CPI

The CPI Wednesday said it will not support a Congress candidate for the presidential polls and dismissed the move of the Samajawadi Party and Trinamool Congress suggesting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's name for the high office as a "political gimmick". 

"The Congress has to be opposed for its failure... it (the UPA) is the most non-performing government... the prime minister is non-functional... It is a political gimmick by the Congress," Communist Party of India leader Gurudas Dasgupta told a TV channel.

His comments came after Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee together announced the name of Singh, along with those of former president APJ Abdul Kalam and former Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee for the July 19 presidential election.

Stating that the CPI has no name to suggest, Dasgupta said the dark horse from the Congress stable was yet to emerge.

"The dark horse is still not in sight," he said.